Student’s Experience at March for Life

Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.

Email This Story

Send email to this addressEnter Your NameAdd a comment hereVerification

Days before traveling thirteen-hundred miles to Washington D.C. for the March for Life, I brimmed with anticipation and excitement. Thoughts of being a part of something bigger than myself and maybe even saving lives clouded my brain. I knew I was being overly optimistic about my first act of political protest, but I could at least assure myself that the pro-life movement’s voice would be heard nationwide for one whole day.

Although I do not know everything about newspapers, I know that when half a million people come together in protest over a controversial topic, newspapers will take note. I know this from coverage of the Women’s March three weeks ago and protests over Trump’s immigration ban happening right now.

When my sister, who would have attended the March for Life last year if not for the snowstorm, warned me not to expect much news coverage at all, I couldn’t comprehend it. After the March for Life had ended, I scrolled through the news and saw that my sister was right. I realized the blatant unfairness of the situation.

The duty of the media has always been to create awareness about important subjects that impact their viewers. Why then would major news networks give three times more coverage, according to the Media Research Center, to the Women’s March then the March for Life?

Unlike the Women’s March, the March for Life is an annual march. This factor could explain the lack of media coverage since annual events generally receive less news attention, but this year’s march differed from previous year’s marches. Participants at the pro-life march were filled with optimism and renewed hope after our nation elected a pro-life president. Like the celebrities at the Women’s March, the March for Life had very noteworthy speakers, especially Vice President Mike Pence, the highest-ranking public official to speak at any of the 43 previous pro-life marches. Both marches were historical events for America.

Lack of participation was certainly not the reason for significantly less coverage either. The attendance numbers for both the Women’s March and the March for Life are greatly disputed, but both marches contained about half a million people, if not slightly less people attending the March for Life. Even so, that small margin does not equal the huge gap in media coverage.

I hope people understand through this obvious display of partiality that the pro-choice side of the abortion argument receives significantly more attention than the pro-life side. I believe that both sides of this very controversial topic should be given proper recognition by the media. If all Americans, especially teenagers like my fellow Ursuline classmates, turn to the news to understand current events, and only see one side of any argument, their opinions will show this bias.

What I saw at the March for Life, what the media refused to show, was hundreds of thousands of people fighting to protect the lives of women and babies. I was inspired to see so many young people attending the march, and I was excited for a future where all human lives are respected and protected.